Where is the Chinese lantern fruit grown? A detailed guide to the latest production regions
The Chinese lantern fruit, scientifically named Physalis alkekengi, also known as yang guniang, xiang guniang, xiang maliu, jin guniang and so on, is a perennial upright herbaceous plant of the genus Physalis in the Solanaceae family. Its flavor is refreshing, and its longan-sized fruit is wrapped in a thin, cicada-wing-like husk, closely resembling an exquisite little lantern, and also like a shy maiden hiding in her boudoir. Now let us take a look together at where the Chinese lantern fruit is grown!
Where is the Chinese lantern fruit grown?
The Chinese lantern fruit originated in China, with wild resources distributed in both the north and the south. It is mainly produced in Gansu, Shaanxi, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan, among other places. It has a long history of cultivation in China; as early as 300 BC, the Erya recorded Physalis alkekengi. Today it is more widely planted in Northeast China and less planted in other regions, and it still counts as a rare and specialty vegetable.
The production environment of the Chinese lantern fruit
The Chinese lantern fruit is often cultivated as an annual. It is highly adaptable, cold-tolerant and heat-tolerant, prefers a cool, humid climate, likes sunlight, and is not choosy about soil. In particular, the Chinese lantern fruit native to Asia can grow normally within a temperature range of 3 to 42°C. In northern China, there are two common types of Chinese lantern fruit, wild and cultivated. The wild type has green fruit and a green husk enclosing the fruit when unripe, turning red when ripe; the cultivated type has green fruit and a green husk enclosing the fruit when unripe, turning yellow when ripe.
The cultivation value of the Chinese lantern fruit
The Chinese lantern fruit is an excellent product for prolonging life and preserving beauty. It contains 18 amino acids needed by the human body and a variety of vitamins, and has the effects of clearing heat, soothing the throat, resolving phlegm and promoting urination. Modern pharmacological research has found that the Chinese lantern fruit also has blood-pressure-lowering and heart-strengthening effects, can inhibit Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and can prevent and treat diabetes, tonsillitis, chronic bronchitis and many other conditions, and has a certain therapeutic effect on aplastic anemia. The Chinese lantern fruit is one of the foods that people in both the north and the south enjoy tasting in their leisure time, and a small amount is exported. It landed in southern cities as early as four or five years ago, and there is also sales information online, but the response has not been great. This is not because it does not taste good, but because the public lacks awareness and recognition of the Chinese lantern fruit. In other words, it is still at the level of consumption by a small range and a small group. To promote it to a level known to people nationwide, like Hami melon and Xinjiang grapes, there is still much work to be done.